OPFR200 - Certificate in Professional Fundraising

Course Description

The Certificate in Professional Fundraising Program online covers the following topics:

Students will explore the history, philosophy, and ethics of development and its relationship to other organization units, such as financial, external relations, legal, and administrative departments. The values of goal setting, priorities, timelines, leadership, communication, and the creation of strategic and operational plans based on organizational vision are also covered.

This component covers the role of annual giving, direct mail, and telemarketing campaigns, as well as internet campaigns, gift clubs, matching gifts, membership campaigns, passive appeals, corporate affiliate programs, reporting, and evaluation.

Topics covered include setting goals and priorities, creating timelines, leading volunteers, staffing, marketing, creating a case statement, donor constituencies, gift pyramids, capital gift vehicles, and restricted and unrestricted gifts.

Topics covered in this component include the continuum of giving, determining the prospect pools, prospect rating, prospect strategy development, cultivation and marketing, making the ask, closing, acknowledgement, recognition, continuing stewardship, managing a major gifts staff, reporting, and evaluation.

In this component, students will investigate structuring a planned giving program, planned giving timelines, identifying planned giving prospects, gift vehicles such as annuities, trust, and bequests, assets used in planned gifts and marketing strategies and materials.

This area of development addresses individual, corporate, and foundation research, proactive and reactive research and the effective use of data systems to enhance efficiency and productivity. Also discussed is the selection and use of research tools to optimize efforts and effective information management.

Topics covered in this component of the program include structuring an institutional support program, grant writing, staffing, networking, research, sponsorships, corporate affiliate programs, gifts-in kind/intellectual, and property.

Social networking, micro-targeting and new online engagement tools with solicitation functions have all changed the face of fundraising. In this component, students explore how to harness the web to enhance and boost current development efforts. Various web-based strategies for fundraising are investigated including what they are, how they can help an organization, and how these strategies are best implemented.

Prospect research, gift processing, and stewardship all play a key role in fundraising. Information management and communications also contribute to an effective development organization. These topics are explored in this component, along with effective volunteer leadership, the lifeblood of non-profit organizations. Internal and external leadership, boards of directors, special events, and volunteer leadership challenges are also explored.

This topic addresses how development processes are managed, including gift processing, gift reporting, stewardship and donor relations, and endowment management. Also covered are ethics in fundraising, successful development communications, and managing volunteers, boards, and other key players.

Accrediting Associations

• CFRE International 84.0 Points

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Certificate in Professional Fundraising : Certificate in Professional Fundraising